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Royal Mail workers vote to strike Royal Mail workers vote to strike
(9 minutes later)
Royal Mail postal workers have voted to take strike action over job security and working conditions.Royal Mail postal workers have voted to take strike action over job security and working conditions.
Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of a total of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike.Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of a total of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike.
The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service.The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service.
Royal Mail says it needs to make big changes to combat a fall in the number of letter and parcel deliveries.Royal Mail says it needs to make big changes to combat a fall in the number of letter and parcel deliveries.
Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said his union would work hard to avoid a strike. He said it would give the Royal Mail a "final opportunity" to resolve the dispute.Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said his union would work hard to avoid a strike. He said it would give the Royal Mail a "final opportunity" to resolve the dispute.
He said there would be a minimum of 10 days before any strike would take place. He said there would be a minimum of 10 days before any strike would take place in which he hoped an agreement could be reached with Royal Mail.
He added that union members had delivered a "damning verdict on the way the Royal Mail is run. We understand the need for modernisation, but it needs to be done in a way that protects workers".He added that union members had delivered a "damning verdict on the way the Royal Mail is run. We understand the need for modernisation, but it needs to be done in a way that protects workers".
Mr Ward also said the government had "caused many of the problems" the Royal Mail was now experiencing.
"If we don't take a stand now, postal services in the UK will be destroyed forever," he said.
Postal Affairs Minister Lord Young said: "A national postal strike is completely self-defeating and will only serve to hurt consumers and businesses who rely on the post and drive even more people away from using mail as a means of communication.
"Royal Mail must modernise and these strikes will slow down that essential process."